What Friends Are For
by Words Make the Story
Summary: An awkward Dunder Mifflin staffer helps out his unlikely pal.


New York City. The Big Apple.

Sure, it was still quite a sight to behold in the daytime, but at night... that's when it was at its most magical; the brightly shining lights emanating from its sublime skyscrapers illuminated the city that never slept like a Christmas tree.

It looked so... so beautiful... and peaceful...

Of course, Gabe knew that this was only an illusion. He was well aware of how noisy, dirty and very much overcrowded the city was.

And yet, he was driving there anyway.

Why, you ask?

To help out a friend.

Perhaps the only true friend that the constantly disparaged and mocked young man ever had.

"Would you like for me to drive the rest of the way?" offered a voice with a slight British tint to it, as a yawn escaped past Gabe's lips. His gaze drifted from the road to the passenger seat, in which sat a girl with an attractively pallid complexion, bob-cut indigo hair and a beauty mark under her left eye, along with the height and visage of one on the brink of womanhood, her arms folded and her head leaning against her window.

Gabe's mouth curled into an amused smirk. "Have you ever even driven a car before?"

The young girl's brow furrowed at the inquiry. "I've piloted crafts that your race couldn't even begin to dream of developing for thousands of years to come. I _think_ I can handle driving one of your simple land vehicles."

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry", he apologized, "I'm sure you could. And I appreciate the offer, but we're about to cross the Hudson River, so we're almost there, anyway."

The girl shrugged and went back to staring out her window. The two sat in silence as they drove over the George Washington bridge and into the heart of the Empire City. As they got closer and closer to their destination, Gabe noticed the girl clutching her stomach.

"You feeling okay?" he asked, his voice etched with concern.

"Yes, yes, I'm fine", she waved him off, "I've just got... an uneasy feeling in my squeedly-spooch, is all."

"Feeling a bit anxious, huh?"

"Obviously." she muttered, rolling her eyes. The dead silence filled the car again as the two made their way into the suburbs of the city. Gabe nearly jumped out of his skin when the girl suddenly yelled "Quickly, pull over there!"

Gabe obeyed, pulling up by the curb of a two-story and very technologically advanced-looking house. The girl pressed her face to the window, gazing at the home with longing in her now wide eyes, but also with the undeniable sense of trepidation as well, as it stared dauntingly back at her.

"... Well...", Gabe spoke up, after five whole minutes of the girl just staring out at the house, "I... uh... I guess this is... goodbye..."

The girl snapped out of her trance, her eyes wandering towards the scraggy man behind the steering wheel. "Yeah... I guess it is..." she muttered, casting her gaze downwards to her steel-toed and buckled boots. "... Well...", her fingers lacing around the door handle, "... Here it goes."

As she opened the door and prepared to step out to take what could very well be, and was most likely the riskiest thing she had ever done in her long, long life, Gabe's hand suddenly shot to her arm. "Wait!"

She stopped, looking at him curiously. "What?"

"I... I... just...", he stammered, before taking a deep breath and telling her "I want you to know that... you're amazing... and you're the only person I have met in my entire life who was actually nice to me. That didn't constantly demand everything of me, and then berate me afterwards, even if I tried my best to do everything right. Didn't make fun of me behind my back, or right to my face, either. And... you don't know how truly grateful I am for that... and... I just want to say that... I'm going to miss you... a lot."

The girl just stared at him, blinking, looking like she didn't know how to react, before her face softened into a smile. He soon found himself wrapping his arms around her as she grabbed him and pulled him into a hug. He smiled to himself, happy that she didn't recoil in disgust upon making contact with his bony frame, as so many women had done before.

"And I shall miss you too, Gabriel Lewis...", the girl admitted, after the two broke apart from their embrace, "You're one of the few inhabitants of this miserable rock that I consider... you know... what your people call a-"

"Friend?"

"Exactly."

The two sat in silence, until the girl asked "Hey, did I ever inform you of my gratitude?"

"Of what?"

_'Oh, Gabe. You really are too modest.' _she thought, smirking. "Of _everything_, Gabe. Did I ever thank you for not only not turning me in to your government after you found me out in that field, but for also taking me into your home and caring for me this past month while I recovered from my crash landing? For helping me work up the courage to do this?"

Gabe sheepishly grinned as a scarlet hue colored his pale cheeks. "Um... no..."

"Then I hereby make it known: thank you."

"No problem. That's, um, you know, that's what friends are for..."

After lapsing into another long silence, she broke it with "... You know... You kinda remind me of him."

"Really?"

She nodded. "You're both outcasts who are mercilessly belittled and mocked by their peers... who are too bloody thick to notice what kind and intelligent souls you are."

Gabe smiled, his cheeks feeling like they were on fire. The girl then opened the door and stepped out, but before she closed it she poked her head back into the car. "Before I go... can I ask you something?"

Gabe let out an annoyed sigh and allowed a roll overtake his eyes. "For the last time, I am _not _the Scranton Strangler. Honestly, why does everyone think that?"

"No, I was just wondering... does this really have to be goodbye?"

The question caught him off guard. "What?"

"I know that we're parting ways, but why should it be for good? Can't we still pop into each other's lives every now and again?"

A soft smile graced Gabe's face. "... I suppose we could..."

The girl returned the smile. "Well then, I guess this isn't goodbye after all, eh, skeleton man?" she said, calling him by a moniker once used in contempt before she had warmed up to him.

"No, Tak. I guess it isn't."

After leaning in and giving him a peck on the cheek goodbye, she slowly closed the car door and walked up to the house. Gabe watched as she rang the bell, and how, about a minute later, a groggy, pajama-clad, bespectacled boy with a scythe-esque hairdo resting on top of the most enormous head Gabe had ever seen in his life answered the door. The boy went slack jawed when he laid eyes upon the girl standing before him. The look of shock soon changed into one of fury, however, and he let his ire take vocal form, while Tak started sobbing and pleading with him.

Oh god. This was exactly how Gabe worried this Dib guy would react. This was such a bad idea. Why didn't he listen to that nagging little voice that invaded his mind as soon as he and Tak got into the car that warned him not to do this? Why did he have to convince Tak to confess her feelings for this guy? Now, she was going to leave rejected. As Dib continued to scream and Tak continued to sob, Gabe decided to intervene. It was clear that this punk didn't want her, and he would be damned if he just let her stand there and continue receiving this tongue-lashing. He unbuckled his seat belt and reached for his door handle, but as he did, he noticed Dib's expression slowly fade from anger to sorrow, and then to longing. In an instant, he wrapped his arms around Tak's waist and crushed his lips to hers. Gabe couldn't help but grin as he watched the two passionately embrace one another.

After they broke apart, the boy stepped aside, motioning for the girl of the stars who had oh so very easily managed to abduct his heart back in the long since passed days of his adolescence to come in. Tak cast one last glimpse over at Gabe, wearing an ear-to-ear smile, before complying and entering Dib's home.

After he saw the door close, Gabe buckled back up and drove off.

A glance at his wristwatch told him that it was now 2:49 AM.

It was a two hour-long trip back to Scranton. When he finally got home, he'd only have a couple hours to allow himself rest, and then he'd have to get up and return to that hell called an office.

But still... it was worth it.

And he had a feeling he would be paying New York another visit very, very soon...

* * *

**Strange little fic, I know. But then again, I'm a strange little guy... **

**Seriously though, the idea for this just popped into my head, and I could _not_ get it out, so I had to release it by putting it onto paper (figuratively speaking, of course). I know that Gabe and Tak were rather out of character (Tak _especially_), so, my apologies. A****nyway, I hope that reading this wasn't a _complete_ waste of your time.**


End file.
